While the general consumption of electricity began to drop with the start of the crisis, figures now show that in October, it actually dropped into negative growth levels, with consumption trends at minus 2 percent.

This downwards direction in consumption continued through October, with figures showing that as of yesterday, electricity consumption has shrunk by 6 percent compared to consumption levels in previous months.

Authorities link the decline in electricity consumption to the fact that some large industrial organizations -- such as iron and steel factories -- have reduced production.

Factories producing goods for foreign markets have cut back on production levels in line with the general contraction of the markets during this crisis. In recent days, decisions by factories producing goods for the domestic market to cut back on their production levels have also had a negative effect on electricity consumption. For the first time last month, growth in consumption levels fell during the middle of the month to zero.

Previously, the consumption of electricity in Turkey showed an average 6-8 percent increase per month. Energy experts were predicting that Turkey would face a shortage of electricity unless new investments were made. However, the steady increase in the consumption of electricity has suddenly turned around and fallen quickly.

According to data from the Energy Ministry, from August 2008 onwards demand started to drop. So much so, that while October 2007 saw 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours (KwH) of electricity consumed last year, this figure dropped to 1.4 billion KwH in October of this year. It has been argued that some of the decline during October could be put down to the 10-day public holiday observed by Turkey this year. But the fact that the decline has continued through to this month is now strongly linked to the fact that the global crisis is making itself felt in Turkey.

The Energy Ministry is now facing questions about why there has been such a stark decline in the demand for electricity. Government officials note that in recent days, serious declines in electricity consumption have been clearly visible in various facilities across Turkey, which had previously used large amounts of electricity. They also underline that the situation is one not for which they were prepared. They said: "There is a serious decline in the demand for electricity. While we were in the middle of talking about a crisis, and how to maintain a balance between supply and demand, suddenly we were faced with these negative consumption figures."

One official explained: "This is a very interesting situation. A decline in the demand for electricity also means a decline in industry, as well as a reduction in production. What we would like to see is factories continuing to produce and for demands for electricity to increase again. It is really difficult to maintain a supply and demand balance, but people need to work."

Data from the Ministry of Energy confirms the statements from the officials. While previous figures on annual consumption levels had placed growth at 7.8 percent, the decline in demand for electricity in the last two months means this figure will actually be 5.8 percent.

Share of electricity produced using natural gas rises above 50 percent

In the meantime, the fact that fall has arrived and that reservoirs in Turkey still don't hold an adequate amount of water means that more of a focus has been placed on using natural gas in the production of electricity. According to the Energy Ministry, while natural gas was used to produce 51.4 percent of electricity in September, the amount of electricity produced using lignite rose to 21.6 percent during the same month. In the meantime, the hydroelectric production of electricity dropped notably to 12.2 percent in September, compared with much higher levels of electricity from hydroelectric sources in previous months, which were in the 20 percent and above range.

Todays Zaman